'It may slow me down but I still have my heart'

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Natalie and her best friend, Samantha or "Sam". When Natalie decided to attend a charter school instead of regular high school due to more flexibility and less germs, Sam decided to attend also. Together, the girls checked off things on Natalie's bucket list.

Natalie was initially diagnosed with bone cancer in 2010. Even in her toughest days fighting for her own life, her personality brought out the life in everybody around her.

"She had such a passion for life and I don't mean after she was diagnosed… I mean she had a passion for life before,” said Greg Mulkey, the athletic director at Marshfield High School, where Hill was a student.

Hill’s cancer took part of her leg, it didn't stop Natalie from living.

“I said to her ‘now Natalie, this isn't going to stop you’,” said Mulkey. “She said ‘Oh no, it may slow me down but I still have my heart.’ I think that speaks who she is and what that does too. I think we all can learn from that.”

“She became the teacher,” said Marshfield’s assistant principal Bryan Trendell. “She taught all of us that you know you've got to live life."

The cancer later moved to her lungs in 2011, but through it all, Natalie Hill continued to battle.

According to her Facebook page, which provided updates for those she inspired throughout her life, Natalie was admitted to the hospital on Monday, Oct. 28.

Her final wish was to make it home, which her mom says was granted Tuesday.

Hundreds are expected to gather at a memorial service for Natalie at Marshfield High School Saturday, November 9 in Coos Bay. Her family suggests anyone wishing to contribute support can donate to Natalie Hill's Relay For Life team.